Editorial: Immigration bill stalls

Thursday, June 22, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

House Republican leaders have further delayed Congress' efforts to overhaul the nation's immigration laws by deciding to conduct public hearings on the highly controversial issue.

The hearings are to be done across the country this summer, which means congressional negotiations on the measures are not likely to begin until at least September. By then, candidates will be in the final weeks of campaigning before the mid-term elections - not exactly good timing for landmark decisions on highly volatile issues.

And these hearings are for competing bills that the House and Senate already have passed. Rather than seeking a compromise with the Senate, GOP House leaders seem to be trying to kill immigration reform this year. If they can keep voters distracted and arguing with each other at town meetings, Republican House leaders hope, then maybe no one will notice that their lawmakers haven't the political spine to negotiate meaningful legislation.

It would help, of course, if the House and Senate were anywhere near each other on this issue. The Senate's legislation, which is supported by President Bush, calls for border enforcement along with a program that would allow temporary guest-worker status and give those already living in the United States illegally a path to citizenship. The House measure emphasizes stepped-up border enforcement and making felons of those who are here illegally. A path to citizenship, which is essential for true immigration reform, is not on the radar for many House Republicans.

According to a story Wednesday in The New York Times, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called the hearings a stall tactic and urged the president to pressure his party members. "Let him (Bush) tell us how much he really wants a bill," Reid said.

It is obvious that House Republicans are more interested in successful re-election campaigns than they are in passing a fair and comprehensive immigration law. That's pitiful leadership.